Holy Cross-North Carolina State Postgame Quotes

Holy Cross Head Coach Sean Kearney
Opening statement
“It was certainly a terrific outing by the home team tonight.
I thought we had a very good start in the first half. We may not
have shot it well, but to go in at halftime only down by two was
big. I thought our changing defenses bothered them, especially in
the zone, and then certainly they didn’t shoot it well in
that first segment.”

On NC State’s 16-2 run to begin the second
half
“I know that it’s kind of been their M.O. this year to
shoot it better in the second half, and certainly they’ve
scored it better in the second half, so we expected a heck of a run
out of them, but at times I didn’t feel like I had enough
time-outs to slow that down.”

On NC State’s 11 blocked shots“As much as I’m pleased with what out team did
on the backboards to outrebound and ACC team and get 16 offensive
boards, when we had some chances for some quicker put-backs, NC
State’s big guys were a little too quick to the ball and
blocked shots. That led to some fast breaks and some early
opportunities for them. That was very difficult for us to recover
from.”

On the way Holy Cross defended Tracy Smith“Our emphasis coming in was to make it really
difficult on Smith, both in man-to-man and in our zones. Once he
made a move and put the ball on the floor, we wanted to try and get
down in there and double-team him. We felt that he’s a good
passer if you run at him right away, but once he gets into his move
sometimes it’s a little bit harder for him. I thought we did
okay there, but we also sent him to the line 10 times, and he made
nine of 10.”

NC State Head Coach Sidney Lowe
On the Florida game affecting the team“I wasn’t worried. I thought we had a good
practice. The guys were upbeat. I guess there was a little
carryover judging by how we played in the first half. I told our
guys, good teams bounce back from tough losses and take it out on
the next opponent.”

On the play of Farnold Degand“Farnold did a great job today. He’s been
playing well the last few games. We started him in the second half,
and we came out playing much better. He gives you that speed and
quickness. He was the difference in our team today. All of our guys
off the bench did a great job.”

On the increased playing time of Julius Mays“Sometimes you have to make decisions based on what
is happening in the game. The combination of Julius and Farnold was
working today. I told my guys if you’re playing well,
you’re going to stay in the game. They’re starting to
realize it.”

On the slow start“We were slow reacting to the ball in the first
half. We need to do a better job of rotating. We let some loose
balls get away. Those are things that can hurt you in the long
run.”

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